Survey Finds Majority Of Catholic Scholars Say Abortion Not Murder

WASHINGTON — A survey of Roman Catholic theologians and biblical scholars indicates that Catholics privately hold a wide range of opinions on abortion but fear dissenting from the church`s official anti-abortion stance.

The controversial group also paid for an Oct. 7 advertisement, signed by 97 prominent Catholics, including 24 nuns and four male religious leaders. The advertisement resulted in a Vatican order to the 28 to retract the statement or face disciplinary action, including expulsion from their orders.

``This survey does provide hard evidence of the truth stated in the Oct. 7 statement,`` said Frances Kissling, the group`s executive director. ``It is a simple fact -- there is a diversity of opinion on abortion among committed Catholics.``

Kissling, said the survey was conducted under the auspices of the Catholic Committee on Pluralism and Abortion, the ad hoc group organized for the Oct. 7 statement.

Questionnaires were sent to the combined membership of three key U.S. Catholic organizations: the Catholic Theological Society, the Catholic Biblical Association and the College Theology Society, with a combined membership of 2,000 members.

Almost 500 persons, including 325 priests and religious, responded to the poll, Kissling said.

According to the poll:

(BU) 62 percent said it would be incorrect to call abortion murder.

(BU) 60 percent said they disapproved of the current provision in canon law calling for excommunication of those involved in the ``sin`` of abortion.

(BU) 49 percent believe that abortion can sometimes be a moral choice.

(BU) 49 percent said they believe there are times when abortion legally should be left to the conscience of the pregnant woman.

(BU) 53 percent said they believed that if abortion is legal, it should be funded for poor women by public funds.

``Prophetically and alarmingly, the survey revealed fear among Catholic scholars that expressing views on abortion contrary to those of the pope and bishops might result in dire consequences,`` Kissling told a news conference.

The survey also showed what Kissling called a ``gender gap`` between men and women, with women respondents ``significantly less likely than men to regard all abortions as murder, to believe that it can never be a moral option and to hold that excommunication is an appropriate penalty where abortion is concerned.``